Bill Text: NY A00918 | 2025-2026 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires the commissioner of the office of temporary and disability assistance to provide for automated identification of OTDA program participants for participation in utility corporation affordability programs for water service affordability.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2025-01-08 - referred to social services [A00918 Detail]
Download: New_York-2025-A00918-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 918 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY (Prefiled) January 8, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. SOLAGES -- read once and referred to the Commit- tee on Social Services AN ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to automated iden- tification of OTDA program participants for participation in utility corporation affordability programs for water service affordability The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Paragraphs (d) and (e) of subdivision 1 and subdivision 2 2 of section 131-ss of the social services law, as amended by a chapter of 3 the laws of 2024 amending the social services law relating to automated 4 identification of OTDA assistance program participants, as proposed in 5 legislative bills numbers S. 9100 and A. 9522, are amended to read as 6 follows: 7 (d) "Utility corporation" shall include utility companies, utility 8 corporations, public utility companies, public utility corporations, gas 9 corporations, electric corporations, municipalities as defined in 10 section two of the public service law and regulated pursuant to the 11 public service law, water-works corporations subject to section fifty of 12 the public service law, a municipal corporation that provides public 13 utility services, a rural electric cooperative, or a state public 14 authority that provides utility services. 15 (e) "Utility corporation [energy] affordability programs" shall be 16 defined by the public service commission and shall be limited to utility 17 corporation programs which are intended to assist customers with energy 18 or water service affordability by reducing customers' energy or water 19 service burden, as applicable. 20 2. Within one year of the effective date of this section, the commis- 21 sioner shall provide for automated identification of OTDA assistance 22 program participants for participation in utility corporation [energy or23water service] affordability programs for energy affordability pursuant EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD02907-01-5A. 918 2 1 to subdivision four of this section. Within one year and six months of 2 the effective date of this section, the commissioner shall provide for 3 automated identification of OTDA program participants for participation 4 in utility corporation affordability programs for water service afforda- 5 bility pursuant to subdivision four of this section. 6 § 2. Paragraphs (a) and (b) of subdivision 4 of section 131-ss of the 7 social services law, paragraph (a) as amended and paragraph (b) as added 8 by chapter 78 of the laws of 2024, are amended to read as follows: 9 (a) To the extent permitted by federal law, regulations and policies, 10 the office, upon the utility corporation agreeing to and signing the 11 office's data terms and upon receipt of the required data elements from 12 the utility corporation, as such data elements are defined by the 13 office, shall conduct automated file matching to identify utility corpo- 14 ration customer accounts that are also OTDA assistance program partic- 15 ipants and, if permitted by federal law, regulations and policies, such 16 information shall be provided to utility corporations no less than semi- 17 annually. Utility corporation customer accounts identified by the office 18 as potentially eligible for participation in available utility corpo- 19 ration [energy] affordability programs as a result of such file matching 20 shall be, if confirmed as eligible for such utility corporation [energy] 21 affordability programs by the utility corporation, enrolled in such 22 utility corporation [energy] affordability programs by the utility 23 corporation within sixty days of receipt by the utility corporation of 24 the results of the automated file match. Any information provided to the 25 utility corporations related to OTDA assistance program participants 26 pursuant to this section shall not be redisclosed by the utility corpo- 27 ration and shall only be utilized for the purpose of confirming eligi- 28 bility in the utility corporation [energy] affordability program and 29 providing notifications pursuant to paragraph (b) of this subdivision. 30 (b) Upon automatic enrollment in the utility corporation [energy] 31 affordability program, the utility corporation shall provide written 32 notification to the utility corporation [energy] affordability program 33 participant of their enrollment in such program. 34 § 3. This act shall take effect on the same date and in the same 35 manner as a chapter of the laws of 2024 amending the social services law 36 relating to automated identification of OTDA assistance program partic- 37 ipants, as proposed in legislative bills numbers S. 9100 and A. 9522, 38 takes effect.
